David Chase picks his favourite episodes of ‘The Sopranos’
When it comes to television classics, The Sopranos undoubtedly holds a premier position. Premiering in 1999, the show transformed the TV landscape, pioneering a golden age of complex narratives that delved deep into the human psyche. Central to its acclaim was the character Tony Soprano, brought to life by the inimitable James Gandolfini. With a portrayal so raw and authentic, Gandolfini’s Tony became an emblem of television excellence, earning him three Emmy Awards for his performance.
Tony Soprano was not just a mob boss; he was a father, a husband, and a man grappling with his identity in a rapidly changing world. He was also, however, a violent, manipulative and disloyal gangster. The genius of The Sopranos lay in its ability to juxtapose the brutal world of the mafia with the mundane struggles of suburban life. Underpinning this dichotomy was Gandolfini’s portrayal, deftly shifting between the fierce and the vulnerable. To this day, it remains one of if not the greatest television performances.
The maestro behind The Sopranos was its creator, David Chase. In a chat with The Huffington Post, Chase delved into the episodes he holds dearest, primarily based on Gandolfini’s exceptional performance. “People call those the big dream sequence,” Chase mused, referencing season six’s ‘Join the Club’ and ‘Mayhem’. In these episodes, Tony Soprano, having been shot by his dementia-addled former mob boss Uncle Junior, finds himself in a coma.
The episodes offered audiences a profound exploration of Tony’s psyche and a meditation on everything he had achieved and lost over the whole series. Questioning whether it’s possible to separate the quality of an episode from the strength of its central character’s performance, Chase said: “You also think, ‘Is it him in the episode or is it the episode?'”
For the creator, these episodes weren’t just about the performance; they were a testament to the show’s evolving filmmaking techniques. With Tony lying unconscious in a hospital bed, intercut with scenes from his dreams, Chase was experimenting. “As we did more and more episodes, I began to think we could take more creative risks,” Chase revealed. Drawing a parallel to his early days at Universal Studios, he expressed how his apprehension about failure had diminished over time, allowing for more adventurous storytelling by the time he got to helming his own HBO show.
Chase didn’t stop at these episodes, though. He also lauded the episode where Christopher, portrayed by Michael Imperioli, meets his demise. “That was spectacular,” Chase commented. “He [Gandolfini] was just incredible.” James Gandolfini’s untimely death in 2013 sent ripples across the entertainment world.
A luminary gone too soon, his legacy was immortalised in his portrayal of Tony Soprano, a character that continues to resonate with audiences globally. And in a poignant tribute to his late father, Michael Gandolfini stepped into the shoes of a young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark, a film set in the 1970s, ensuring the legacy of the Soprano family – and the Gandolfini’s – lives on.
